Dropping The Pace
The latest episode of Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life felt a lot slower than the last one while it continued with the same soap tone as the previous one. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t really move forward and the latest installment almost felt like a filler episode. However, the drama does manage to link all the different stories and characters quite skillfully and it’s mainly what makes the show still enjoyable to watch regardless. The episode starts right where it left off with Cheong-Ah shocked to see Joon-Hwi. He seems to think that Baek-Rim is the guilty one and as Cheong worries that she will need to pay for the damaged camera, she doesn’t reveal she’s the one he’s looking for. Looking around her room, he sees all the police awards she has received and reveals that the police is after Rim because of the bathroom’s indecent assault. He tells her that if Rim comes forward with an apology video, he will pay himself for the camera’s damage. Cheong-Ah then gets a call from the hospital; Baek-Rim has been involved in an accident. Seol-Ah speaks to Tae-Rang about her suspicions and thinks he’s Hae-Rang’s husband. She makes him promise that they will not let anyone take their spouses away from them. Hwa-Young arrives soon after, causing a scene when she sees her daughter-in-law. However, Seol-Ah asks for her help and they start praying together. In her head, Seol-Ah wishes that both her husband and his mistress never wake up. Cheong-ah arrives at the hospital and, apart from some broken bones, sees that Baek-Rim is in no immediate danger. When she asks him what happened, he tells her that he doesn’t remember but we find out that the other car involved had Jin-Woo and Hae-Rang in it. He later receives a fruit basket from Intermarket and is asked by Hwa-Young not to say anything to the press. Hwa-Young finds out that her son is responsible for the accident and worries that this will cause the shares in the Intermarket company to drop down considerably. She then decides to blame Rim for the accident and to give him compensation to pay him off. Hae-Rang heads back home and as his father arrives, he decides not to tell him about his sister’s accident and listens to him speak about finding someone to marry his daughter. Meanwhile, Yoo-ra and Joon-Hwi discuss Jun Gyeom and the girl he saved. After leaving her, Joon-Hwi remembers the hospital receipt his mum found and reacted so shockingly to. As they make their way out of the hospital, Hwa-Young and Seol-Ah almost cross paths with Cheong-Ah. Seol sees her in time and quickly moves her mother-in-law away from her direction, pretending she saw a reporter instead. Hwa-Young is worried that someone tipped off the press but Seol Ah reassures her as the other driver has promised not to say anything. The Mun family pay their respects as it’s the anniversary of their mum’s death. As they share some touching moments, we find out that Tae-Rang is not Joon-Ik’s real son. Later on, we also see Pa-Rang recording Yeon-Ah while she plays tennis. Cheong-Ah decides to sneak into her old house to eat some food from the fridge while her parents are in the next room having a nap. Young-Ae talks to her husband about finally finding a job after 32 years.He tells her that he’s not bored and since she earns a lot of money, he should give her more allowance. Young-Ae and Young-Woong find their daughter eating in the kitchen which enrages her dad and he once against tells her to get out. He explains that she’s to blame for Seol-Ah cutting ties with them for 9 years and for them not being allowed at her wedding. During dinner, Yeon-Ah tells her family that she has quit tennis and is planning to become an idol singer to be able to provide for her family. Her father thinks this is a great idea and wants to be her manager. Joon-Hwi arrives at work but his colleagues aren’t impressed with him as he arrives late. His boss asks him to make coffee but Joon-hwi refuses, sending him to take care of promoting unpopular sports by himself instead. Back at the hospital, Baek-Rim tells Cheong-Ah that he keeps getting calls from Joon-Hwi. She replies that he shouldn’t worry as he now has an alibi. Tae-Rang and Seol-Ah arrive at the hospital to visit Hae-Rang and Jin Woo. Suddenly, Seol-Ah rushes over with Hae’s phone and uses her fingerprints to unlock it where she finds pictures of them together. Hwa-Young accidentally bumps into Joon-Hwi in hospital but lies about her reason for being here. She arrives in the intensive care room, only to find Seol-Ah and Tae-Rang arguing over Hae’s phone. After heading to her son’s bedside, she berates her for not even crying. The episode then ends with the doctor telling them that both are now in a coma and might not wake up. While Beautiful Love leaps into its soap opera style, it was almost inevitable that the pace would drop quite considerably since this is all too common with the genre. While we don’t really get a lot of story development, we do still find out a little more about the Mun family and how Tae-Rang is not Joon-Ik’s biological son. Cheons-Ah’s father carries on treating her daughter terribly while favouring his younger daughter and refusing to work, while Hwa-Young remains the evil mother-in-law to Seol-Ah. In true soap opera style, all the different characters’ story arcs manage to be interwoven with each other quite well, and this should be enough to keep you coming back for more.
